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Marriott International
Marriott International is an American multinational diversified hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by his son, Executive Chairman Bill Marriott, and President and Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson. Marriott International is the third-largest hotel chain in the world. It has 30 brands with 7,003 properties in 131 countries and territories around the world, over 1,332,826 rooms (as of March 31, 2019), including 2,035 that are managed with 559,569 rooms, 4,905 that are franchised or licensed with 756,156 rooms, and 63 that are owned or leased with 17,101 rooms, plus an additional 475,000 rooms in the development pipeline and an additional 25,000 rooms approved for development but not yet under signed contracts. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In 2017, Marriott was ranked #33 on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, its twentieth appearance on the list. History Marriott International was formed in 1993 when the Marriott Corporation split into two companies, Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. In 1995, Marriott was the first hotel company worldwide to offer guests the option to book reservations online, via the company's implementation of MARSHA (Marriott's Automatic Reservation System for Hotel Accommodations). In April 1995, Marriott International acquired a 49% interest in Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC. Marriott International believed that it could increase sales and profit margins for The Ritz-Carlton, a troubled chain with a significant number of properties either losing money or barely breaking even. The cost to Marriott was estimated to have been about $200 million in cash and assumed debt. The next year, Marriott spent $331 million to take over The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta and buy a majority interest in two properties owned by William Johnson, a real estate developer who had purchased The Ritz-Carlton, Boston in 1983 and expanded his Ritz-Carlton holdings over the next twenty years. The Ritz-Carlton began expansion into the lucrative timeshare market and undertook other new initiatives made financially possible by the deep pockets of Marriott, which also lent its own in-house expertise in certain areas. There were other benefits for Ritz-Carlton flowing from its relationship with Marriott, such as being able to take advantage of the parent company's reservation system and buying power. The partnership was solidified in 1998 when Marriott acquired majority ownership of The Ritz-Carlton. Today, there are 91 Ritz-Carlton properties around the world. Restructuring (2000–2013) The Marriott World Trade Center was destroyed during the September 11, 2001, attacks. In 2002 Marriott International began a major restructuring by spinning off many Senior Living Services Communities (which is now part of Sunrise Senior Living) and Marriott Distribution Services, so that it could focus on hotel ownership and management. The changes were completed in 2003. Marriott International owned Ramada International Hotels & Resorts until its sale on September 15, 2004, to Cendant. In 2005, Marriott International and Marriott Vacation Club International comprised two of the 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. On July 19, 2006, Marriott announced that all lodging buildings it operated in the United States and Canada would become non-smoking beginning September 2006. "The new policy includes all guest rooms, restaurants, lounges, meeting rooms, public space, and employee work areas." There were bombings at the Islamabad Marriott in 2008 and at the Jakarta Marriott in 2009. On November 11, 2010, Marriott announced plans to add over 600 hotel properties by 2015. The bulk of the additions will be in emerging markets: India, where it plans to have 100 hotel properties, China, and Southeast Asia. On January 21, 2011, Marriott said that pornography would not be included in the entertainment offered at new hotels, which will use an Internet-based video-on-demand system. On December 13, 2011, J.W. Marriott, Jr. announced he would be stepping down as CEO of the company while assuming the role of executive chairman. It was announced that Arne Sorenson would be taking over as CEO as of March 2012. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released his 2011 federal income taxes on September 21, 2012, showing that he declared $260,390 in director's fees from Marriott International, despite the fact that news was released on January 13, 2011, that he had already stepped down from the Marriott International board to run for president. His released 2010 tax returns showed earnings in 2010 of $113,881 in director's fees from Marriott. In February 2012, Bloomberg reported on Romney's years overseeing tax matters for Marriott, which had included several "scams" (quoting Sen. John McCain) and legal actions brought against Marriott, which Marriott lost in court, over its manipulations of the U.S. Tax Code. In December 2012, Guinness World Records recognized the five-star JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai as the world's tallest hotel. Recent developments (2014–present) Disruption of competing hotspots On October 3, 2014, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Marriott $600,000 for unlawful use of a "containment" feature of a Wi-Fi monitoring system to deliberately interfere with client-owned networks in the convention space of its Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. The scheme disrupted the operation of clients' mobile telephone hotspots by sending fraudulent Wi-fi de-authentication packets. Marriott International, Inc., the American Hotel and Lodging Association and Ryman Hospitality Properties responded by unsuccessfully petitioning the FCC to change the rules to allow them to continue the wilful jamming of client-owned networks, a position which they were forced to abandon in early 2015 in response to backlash from clients, mainstream media, major technology companies, and national mobile carriers. The incident drew unfavorable publicity to Marriott's practice of charging transient lodgers $13–15/day for wi-fi connections, routinely included in the base price at most discount chains, and to exorbitant wi-fi fees (typically $250–1000 per device) charged to convention-goers at a time when the $2.25 billion annually in ever-increasing "incidental fees" charged by US-based hotels to their lodgers was already drawing criticism and negative media coverage. Acquisitions On January 27, 2015, Marriott acquired Canadian hotel chain Delta Hotels. Delta operated 38 hotels in Canada at the time of acquisition; it has since expanded to the United States, Europe, and Asia. On November 16, 2015, Marriott announced the acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide for $13 billion. A competing offer for Starwood at $14 billion from a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group was announced March 3, 2016, moving Starwood to cease the deal with Marriott and pursue the offer from Anbang Insurance Group. After Marriott raised its bid to $13.6 billion on March 21, Starwood terminated the Anbang agreement and proceeded again with the merger with Marriott. Following all necessary regulatory approvals in the United States and around the world over the course of 2016, Marriott closed the merger with Starwood on September 23, 2016, creating the world's largest hotel company with over 5700 properties, 1.1 million rooms, and a new portfolio of 30 brands. The Starwood acquisition gave Marriott a larger non-US presence; approximately 75% of Starwood's revenues were from non-US markets. The acquisition was the largest of its sort since 2007 when Blackstone acquired Hilton for $26 billion. Executives noted that total transaction and integration expenditures may exceed $100 million. Brands Luxury * Classic JW Marriott.png|JW Marriott RITZ-CARLTON.png|The Ritz-Carlton St. Regis.png|St. Regis * Distinctive ** Bulgari Hotels & Resorts ** EDITION ** The Luxury Collection ** W Premium * Classic ** Delta Hotels.png|Delta Hotels|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Delta_Hotels Marriott.png|Marriott Hotels & Resorts Marriott (VC).png|Marriott Vacation Club Sheraton.png|Sheraton|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Sheraton * Distinctive ** Le Méridien ** Renaissance ** Westin Select * Classic Courtyard.png|Courtyard|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Courtyard_by_Marriott Fairfield.png|Fairfield|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Fairfield_by_Marriott Four Points.png|Four Points by Sheraton Protea Hotels.png|Protea Hotels SpringHill.png|SpringHill Suites|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/SpringHill_Suites * Distinctive AC.png|AC Hotels|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/AC_Hotels Aloft.png|aloft|link=https://staypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Aloft Moxy.png|moxy hotels Longer Stays * Classic ** Marriott Executive Apartments ** Residence Inn ** TownePlace Suites * Distinctive ** element ** Homes & Villas by Marriott International Collections * Autograph Collection * Design Hotels * Tribute Portfolio see also External Links Official Site Category:Companies Category:Marriott International